Cushion means for milk bottle crates



Sept. 5, 1961 s. PERUN 2,998,895

CUSHION MEANS FOR MILK BOTTLE CRATES Filed Aug. 51, 1960 "Ll Q. I l

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13 FKc 3 INVENTOR.

SAMUEL PERuN Arrvmvsr United States Patent 2,998,895 CUSHION MEANS FOR MILK BOTTLE CRATES Samuel Peron, 2211 NE. 135th Lane, North Miami, Fla. Filed Aug. 31, 1960, Ser. No. 53,285 3 Claims. (Cl. 21735) This invention relates to new and useful improvements in crates generally, and more glarticulaiiy to a bottle crate of the character used by creameries and milk distributors for transporting dairy products, although it is to be understood that it may be used for other products where applicable.

Milk bottle crates particularly are constructed in a manner whereby a plurality of bottle receiving cells are formed of a multiplicity of wires, constituting the par titions and the bottoms of each cell and with the botties being supported upon the bottom wires during handling and shipment of the loaded crates. Heretofore, a very considerable amount of breakage has been caused by rough handling of the crates, resulting in a considerable financial loss to the dairy, such breakage being due primarily to dropping or stacking of the crates in shipment trucks where time is of the essence, coupled with the weight of the crate, necessitating rapid stacking of the loaded crates in the trucks and, when too roughly handled, result in fracturing the bottoms of numerous bottles, causing the milk or other products to be wasted. The purpose of this invention is to provide cushioning means within the bottoms of each of the cells, upon which the bottles rest and which support the bottles in a manner that avoids breakage due. to dropping or rough handling of the crates.

The invention contemplates simple cushion means that is applicable to the bottom forming wire structure of each of the cells in a manner that permits the cushion means to. have snapping engagement upon the wires in crates that have already been constructed and with the cushion means comprising yieldable cup-like members that are held in spaced apart relation within the bottom of each cell and with the cushion means having stem portions that space cushion means apart so as to distribute the cushion area over the major portion of the cells to fully engage the bottoms of the milk bottles.

Novel features of construction and operation of the device will be more clearly apparent during the course of the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein has been illustrated the preferred form of the device and wherein like characters of reference are employed to denote like parts throughout the several figures.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of a milk bottle crate showing the invention applied thereto,

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary section taken substantially on line 2-2 of FIGURE 1,

FEGURE 3 is a section taken on URE 2,

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of a pair of cooperative cushion elements embodied in the invention,

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal section taken substantially along line 5-5 of FIGURE 4 and,

FIGURE 6 is an end elevation of one cushion ele ment.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the numeral 5 designates a conventional crate, such as that employed to transport bottles of milk, cream or the like. The crate 5 is of conventional construction and includes side walls 6 and end walls 7. The end walls are provided with the usual openings to constitute hand grips. The crate is divided by a longitudinal and transverse cellforming partition rods 9 and :10. The rods 9 and 10 line 3-3 of FIG- "2 ,998,895 Patented Sept. 5, 1961 "ice are assembled rigidly together in the conventional manner to provide a plurality of cells 11 wherein the milk bottles are disposed and held against contacting relation with respect to each other by the rods 9 and 10-. Adapted to traverse the case longitudinally and toconstitute the bottoms of the cells 11, are a plurality of rods 12, there being a pair of such rods 12 in spaced apart relation to form the bottom of the cells and with the rods 12 being in overlying relation to the lowermost rods 9. The structure so far described is conventional and forms no part of the present invention other than to employ the rods 12 as, the supporting means for the cushion elements to'be describedp V The cushion elements, see particularly FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 each comprise a hollow cup-shaped element 13 that are provided with oppositely extending tubular stems 14 and 15. The cups 13 and the stems =14 and 15 have been slotted at 16 and with the slots extending entirely the length of the cushion elements. The slots 16 of the cups is in the form of a wedge opening that communicates with the slots of the stems 14 and 15 whereby to facilitate the engagement of the cups and the stems 14 and 15 over the rods 12. The cups 13 upon their inner sides, extending closely adjacent to the slot 16 are provided with reinforcing webs 17. The entire cushion element is molded from a suitable plastic such as polyethylene, having a high degree of resistance to deterioration and also being yieldable upon impact of the bottoms of the bottles thereon. The stems 15, see particularly FIGURES l, 2 and 3 function to space the cushion elements apart a predetermined distance, while the stems '14 support the cushion elements in a suitable spaced relation in the bottom of the cells, there being four cushion elements in the bottom of each cell that function to engage the major portion of the bottom of the bottles so as to hold the bottles against sudden downward movement in such instances where the crate may be dropped bodily or roughly disposed in stacked relation in the trucks.

In the use of the device, a conventional milk bottle crate having the spaced apart bottom-forming rods 12 is employed in connection with this invention. The several cushion elements are engaged with the rods, by forcing the rods into the wedge slots 16, forcing the cups outwardly and laterally and also tending to open the slots of the stem portions 14 and 15 so that the device can be forced onto the rods 12 to subsequently spring back into their normal shape. As shown, the cushion elements are disposed in each cell 11, being held in their spaced apart relation by the abutting engagement of the stern portion 15 while the stem portions 14 are held against sliding movement with the transverse rods 9. With the several cushion elements assembled with respect to the rods 12, the crate then offers a receptacle that is adapted to support the milk bottles, indicated in dotted lines in FIGURE 2 with their bottoms resting upon their cushion cups 12. Thus, when any sudden downward pressure is exerted upon the bottles, such as the dropping of the crate, the bottles will be adequately cushioned against engaging any metal other than the partition rods '10 and the upper rods 9 since all sudden action in a downward motion serves to adequately protect the bottom of the milk bottle against breakage, and it should be pointed out that the breakage is customarily on the bottom of the bottles. The webs 17 additionally support the flexibility of the cups adjacent to the wedge openings 16. While the cushion elements have been indicated as being preferably from polyethylene, it will be apparent that other forms of plastic may be employed having a similar degree of flexibility.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a very novel form of cushion means has been provided for bottle crates that has been found to be highly successful in preventing breakage of the bottles due to rough handling of the crates. The cushioning means may be quickly and easily installed within the bottoms of the cells at a minimum cost that has been found to be far less than the present cost of broken bottles and the cost of wasting milk products. The structure is strong, durable and most effective as providing a cushion support of conventional milk bottle crates and the cushioning devices are molded in an economical manner. It will be apparent of course that the cushion elements may freely rotate upon the rods 12 to provide for uniform wear. The use of polyethylene also provides a material that permits steam cleaning of the crates and is highly resistant to caustic solutions and also prevents unsanitary rust from collecting on the bottom of the cells that is normally possibly transferred to the bottoms of the bottles. It is calculated that the cushion elements will greatly extend the life of the crates.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise construction shown, but that changes are contemplated as readily fall Within the spirit of the invention as shall be determined by the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A bottle cushioning means for milk bottle crates of the type that have side and end walls and with the crate being divided into a plurality of bottle receiving cells by transverse and longitudinally extending wire partitions, the bottoms of the cells being defined by spaced apart rods that extend throughout the length of the crate and each cell bottom being spanned by a pair of such rods in spaced apart relation, yieldable cushion devices connected to the rods in the bottom of each cell and with the devices upon each rod being held in spaced apart relation whereby to form a plurality of cushion devices upon which the bottom of the bottle is yieldably held against contacting relation to the bottom forming rods, the cushion devices being longitudinally slotted to have a snapping engagement with the rods, the cushion devices each embodying a semi-spherical cup having a pair of oppositely extending and axial arranged tubular stem portions, the cup and the stems being integrally molded from polyethylene, the opening of the stems being continuous in diameter throughout the cushion device and conforming in diameter to the diameter of the bottom forming rods, a pair of cushion devices being engaged upon each rod and with the cups of adjacent pairs being in opposed relation, certain of the stems being in abutting relation to hold the cups in spaced apart relation and the other stems engaging the partitions to maintain the cushion devices against sliding movement on the rods.

2. The structure according to claim 1, wherein the slots of the cups are wedge shaped and with the wedge shaped slots communicating with the slots of the stems, the wedge shaped slot providing an access opening to facilitate the engagement of the cushion devices over the rods.

3. The structure according to claim 1 wherein the slots of the cups are Wedge shaped and with the wedge shaped slots communicating with the slots of the stems, the wedge shaped slots providing an access opening to facilitate the engagement of the cushion devices over the rods, the said cups upon their inner face and to opposite sides of the Wedge shaped slot being provided with integral reinforcing webs and with the webs also being integral with the adjacent stem portion, the said cups being of a diameter to project a substantial distance above the bottom forming rods for yieldably supporting the bottoms of the bottles against accidental breakage, the said cushion devices being rotatable upon the rods.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,258,707 Krueger et a1. Oct. 14, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 809,187 France Dec. 3, 1936 

